Figure Skating
Teacher:
Maxim Boleslav (Ice Elite: Off Ice Training)
Adela Roksana (Ice Elite: On Ice Trainng)
Min Soon-Bok (Blades of Glory: On Ice Training)
Kyson Li (Blades of Glory: Off Ice Training)
Ice Elite Coaches
Maxim Boleslav is a Russian elite skater, winner of at least 4 Olympic gold medals for his home-country in his prime. After a bad injury during his last competition, he never had the same edge. He now lends his knowledge of figure skating to the students at Saint Sandorez. He is the main coach for all figure skaters, ensuring they all know the skills necessary.
Adela Roksana is a Polish skater, one of international success but not of Olympic medals. She did, however, train with Maxim to perfect her Pairs Dancing, and as such has a close bond with him to this day. He sent her an offer to teach with him at Saint Sandorez, and she is the coach for the Ice Elite team. Her friendship with Maxim ensures her team has the skills necessary for winning. She has a friendly rivalry with fellow coach Rita Ottavia.
Blades of Glory Coaches
Min Soon-Bok is a highly skilled Korean skater who specializes in pairs dance, although she has only ever secured silver medals. She is a perfectionist, which often caused tensions between her and her partners and ultimately resulted in problems on the ice and the silver placing. She was eventually paired with Kyson Li, a Chinese skater. They fought hard to secure gold medals in their competitions, but against Maxim and Adela, they still only get second place. Their is a rivalry between the two sets of coaches, but it is always professional.
Kyson Li is a Chinese skater who has always worked hard to get to his level of talent. He has only competed in Chinese or Asian events, seldom leaving his area of the world, and therefore isn't internationally known. He was paired with Min in the later part of her career, the two forming a solid pair. She brought out the fire in him, and he cooled her temper and perfectionism. Unlike Maxim and Adela, they are a couple.
Students:
Ice Elite
Naomi Laughterdale
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Blades of Glory
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Location:
Ice Rink
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At an international or major national skating competitions, skaters in the same event are divided into groups for practice sessions before the competition. Because of safety concerns, there are usually no more than 6 singles skaters, 4 pair skating teams, or 5 ice dancing couples on the ice at the same time. After a warmup period, each skater's program music is played in turn. The other skaters must exit the ice while each skater performs their routine. Skaters are usually given at least one "official" practice on the actual competition ice surface for each competition segment before the event, which allows them to orient themselves in the arena and check for any problems with the timing or sound quality of their music.
Coaches are not permitted on the ice with their skaters at competition practices, and instead stand or sit behind the rink boards. At international competitions except for the Olympic Games, skaters are not permitted to skate except on the officially designated practice sessions once they have been credentialed at the competition.
The start order for the initial phase (short program or compulsory dance) of the competition has traditionally been determined by random draw, but at some competitions is now the reverse order of seeding or qualification placement. Again, skaters are divided into warmup groups. During the competition, each group of skaters takes the ice together for few minutes of warmup, then each skater performs their program alone on the ice. The skaters then wait off the ice in the kiss and cry area for their marks to be read, while volunteers (usually children) called sweepers collect any flowers or other gifts from the ice. There is usually a break to resurface the ice after every 2 groups. In the second and subsequent phases of the competition, the start orders and warmup groups are determined by current standings, with either a random draw within each group or competitors skating in reverse order of standing, depending on the rules of the particular competition.
As of 2007, all international and most national competitions use the ISU Judging System to determine competition results. The judges, event referee, and technical panel officials sit together on one side of the ice, close to the ice level. The referee is responsible for running the competition, such as signalling the announcer and music booth, timing the warmup periods, and resolving any issues involving accidents or disruptions. Accountants are responsible for tabulating the marks and competition results. At many competitions, there are also trial judges sitting in a group behind the working officials, who practice-judge the event in order to qualify for a judging appointment.
Following the competition, there may be a podium ceremony on the ice where medals, trophies, and flowers are awarded. Many competitions conclude with a gala or exhibition where the top finishers from each discipline, and sometimes invited skaters from the host country or club, perform show programs in a non-competitive setting.
Qualifying and club competitions usually follow similar procedures. At these events, because of the number of competitors, skaters may only get a brief practice without music on the competition ice surface. Particularly in the lower-level age or skill divisions, it is common to use closed judging to save time; in this case, the judges record each skater's marks after their performance, but the marks are not read, only posted at the conclusion of the competition. At competitions where there are a very large number of competitors, they may be divided into groups for a qualifying or initial round, from which the best-placed skaters from each group advance to the final round. At club competitions it is also very common for the short program and free skating to be held as separate events with separate entries. Podium ceremonies are usually held in an off-ice area, and there is rarely a gala.
Competitions in synchronized skating follow a somewhat modified procedure. Because of the impossibility of having more than one team on the ice at the same time, each team gets their own designated practice time before the competition, and a short warm-up period immediately before their performance in which the team members usually file onto the ice and skate around in a choreographed formation to take up the opening position for their program. At synchronized skating competitions, the judges' stand is positioned high above the ice for better visibility of the formations, and there is a second referee at ice level responsible for dealing with accidents and safety issues.
